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Pawlenty, a near-certain 2012 presidential candidate, will make the announcement at the start of the town hall, which begins at 7:15 eastern time tonight and will feature him taking 30 minutes of live questions.

"Washington is headed in the wrong direction," Pawlenty is expected to say. "These candidates share my common-sense approach to governing, and will work to stop the out-of-control spending in Washington." (Worth noting: Pawlenty isn't backing any incumbents, a move likely aimed at reinforcing his outsider status within the party.)

Pawlenty will also unveil a widget on his website that allows people to directly donate to the candidates he is backing -- a sort of one-stop shop that allies of the Minnesota governor argue will make an endorsement from him have a genuine and lasting impact.

The power of a Pawlenty endorsement will get two quick tests as Burns and Djou are running in special elections in May. Burns will try to win the southwestern Pennsylvania 12th district long held by the late Rep. John Murtha (D) in a May 18 special while Djou is the lone Republican running in what a surprisingly competitive contest on May 22 for former Rep. Neil Abercrombie's (D) seat.

Pawlenty's decision to get into the endorsement game in a major way comes hot on the heels of similar rollouts by former Govs. Mitt Romney (Mass.) and Sarah Palin (Alaska).

All three are seen as potential 2012 candidates and are using the coming midterms to bolster their status within the party and accrue chits with rank and file Republicans in advance of the presidential race.

Of the trio, Pawlenty is the least known nationally and, not coincidentally, the most aggressive in working to establish himself as a force among the party's activist base.

In the final three months of 2009, Pawlenty raised nearly $1.3 million through his Freedom First PAC but made only a handful of donations to candidates. Among those who got contributions during that time included: now Sen. Scott Brown (Mass.), Sen. Richard Burr (N.C.), former Rep. Rob Portman (Ohio) and a handful of Minnesota House members.

These seven endorsements suggest that Pawlenty is going to be significantly more involved in spreading around campaign contributions this spring, summer and fall as he ramps up the political operation that, he hopes, will carry him to the presidential nomination in 2012.

Yes it is begging, Jake, what else could you possibly call it? Nobody awaits invitations to respond to posts, and nobody else prompts others to respond. Every one of you "if anyone wants ... let me know" posts is a cry for attention.

As I said, I think everyone else here would have to admit that you would absolutely die under Hypothetical #2 (even the dumbest specialty board certified doctors ; )

bsimon1:

I'm not talking about forcing anyone to vote for him. Under Hypothetical #1, even if Gov. Pawlenty's office and family were the only ones who made it to the polls, that would be more than Obama could personally get out to vote.

"noacoler I truly do not understand how he passed the most difficult bar exam in the country. He is amazingly dense."

Well I have often wondered the same thing about Board Certified doctors. My certification exams were very challenging.
Yet I have worked with specialty board certified doctors who are...I dunno, words fail me, stupid, ignorant, arrogant, preoccupied with autistic stimuli and magic ideas, rigid, these words don't describe how dangerous they are.

I would love to see the GOP run Barbour. A fat white-haired guy with three chins and a drawl, yet, that'd win 45 states. Not.

The southern strategy worked a little too well because, as always, the GOP went too far. Yeah they crafted an appeal to rural southern racists and managed to dog-whistle the really nasty parts, but along the way they managed to alienate everyone with an education and a moral compass. So the rural south is the only demographic where the GOP isn't critically losing ground.

And buy 2012 non-Hispanic white births will be under 50%, and less than a generation later whites will no longer be a majority in the USA. And for a GOP with virtually no nonwhite votes anywhere, that's the end.

one last comment: I would still like to engage some intelligent discussion while I am away about the GOP being a Southern Anglo party that would be best served in 2012 by selecting one of their governors who reflect the values and image of the GOP:
i.e. a Southern Anglo Party.

Traditionally the GOP has taken the easy/safe road in selecting their nominee with Dole, Bush, and McCain and since Barbour was a former GOP Chairman he unlike Pawlenty fits that mold best imh. You see its MY OPINION ONLY, not a fact not a certainty just MY OPINION jake.

"You really think that Gov. Pawlenty (with forces already in State) could not turn out more voters than Obama could (from D.C.), with less than six (6) hours left before the polls close?! What about if there was only ONE HOUR left? At the very least, everyone working in Pawlenty's office would go vote."

'forces'? Can he command the national guard to vote for him?

Though, if you're thinking his political organization, I recall he couldn't muster a win for McCain in the caucuses; nor could he muster a decent showing for McCain in the general, which I remind you Obama won handily.

So perhaps we can construct the hypothetical differently, such that you receive the answer you desire.

Though having said that, I wonder if there are enough voters who would vote for Pawlenty over Obama, just to get him out of the state. (see: babloom | March 31, 2010 8:28 PM )

no jake I am leaving to go help JD the next 10 days. Wish me luck and Happy Easter. Enjoy your mindless games maybe you can find some 2 years to argue with. Easter Egg hunts and Breaking Passover Bread might be more appropriate games for you.

Of course he didn't, the guy has no logical faculties at all. He can't put together the simplest line of reasoning and he can't handle being disagreed with. JakeD couldn't get into a high school debate team, there is zero chance he could get through a year of undergraduate classes, and a doctorate? The guy who only makes sense when he pastes others' writing?

Most rightwing bamboozlement is a no consequences affair for the bamboozlers. Death panels, Manchurian candidate presidents, 'armed IRS' agents busting down your door to ram low deductible health care coverage down your throat. It goes on and on.

But it seems one old yarn from the fever swamp may have some very pernicious consequences for the folks who make their living making up stories to keep the wingnut masses in a state of chronic agitation and moral panic.

Rightwing hullabaloo over the federal Census, particularly the improbable claim that the Census is unconstitutional, is reportedly leading a lot of the most conservative Republicans to refuse to fill out their Census forms, which in theory at least could lead to substantial underrepresentation for these folks in Congress over the next decade -- not to mention a lower cut of services from the federal government.

That at least is what Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), the ranking Republican on the committee that oversees the Census, thinks is happening. And he's now taken to Redstate.com itself, Fever Swamp Central, to tell fellow conservatives to do the right thing and fill out their Census forms.

As McHenry notes, it's very hard to reason that the Census can be unconstitutional since it's one of the only things the constitution not only provides broad powers to do but actually expressly enjoins the federal government to do every decade.

"would win" again you don't understand the word hypothetical when you continue to couch your post in absolutes. I have no idea; neither do you except for the REALTY that Pawlenty is another unpopular governor TODAY, end of discussion.
My theory is that the GOP is a southern Anglo party only and that Hailey Barbour embodies the GOP. Curious that GOPers here would not agree with that charcterization. Look at their failed attempt to reach out to African Americans with Michael Steele. Yea choosing a black chairman that wears $2000 suits and finances limousine rides, strip clubs and Ritz Carlton stays is a big hit with minorites. Blackwell was even a bigger flop attracting new voters to the GOP. The GOP is best suited to campaign with their southern governors and continuing to preach to their choir. Forget the north or midwest voters they aren't buying and yes Brown will be toast in 2012, his candidacy was a fluke against an awful candidate, Mass Ds won't make that mistake twice. My money is on the failed governor from the successful state of Mississippi in 2012.

'Just days ago, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) was condemning the “government takeover” of health care, cheering on Tea Party protesters, and denouncing the law’s “special deals” on the floor of the House and on news shows across the country. Kingston joined the Republican effort to repeal the law in Congress and co-sponsored two separate bills to “repeal and replace” the bill.

But yesterday, during a town hall at College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswik, Kingston did what’s quickly becoming a popular trend for Republicans. He walked back from his repeal rhetoric and highlighted some of the benefits of the new law:

Instead Kingston, who had joined all other Republicans in the House in voting against the overhaul, focused on changes he thinks should be made to make it better. He said lawmakers have “unfinished business” and both parties should work together to improve the nation’s health care system….At one point, he assured the crowd there are no “death panels,” a charge made by some conservatives over the course of the year-long debate and echoed by at least one citizen in attendance Wednesday.

“There are a lot of things in this bill I think you and I certainly like,” Kingston said.'

typical:
'
Yesterday, National Review Online (NRO) posted an article by the American Enterprise Institute’s Kevin Hassett arguing that the fact that the recession has been worse for minorities “suggests that discrimination may well still be a factor in the American labor market.” In response, NRO hosted an online “symposium” for “some economics and civil-rights analysts to share their thoughts on the topic.” Their conclusion was that “Discrimination is an insufficient explanation for black unemployment.” Oliver Willis notes that NRO did not include any black participants in the discussion:

The thing is, there’s no law or rule that only black people can talk about issues affecting black people, or the same for white, Latino, Asian people, etc.

But considering the way the conservative movement insists that it is diverse, they couldn’t find one black person for their symposium? Not one?'

You really think that Gov. Pawlenty (with forces already in State) could not turn out more voters than Obama could (from D.C.), with less than six (6) hours left before the polls close?! What about if there was only ONE HOUR left? At the very least, everyone working in Pawlenty's office would go vote.

My prediction for 2012 GOP nominee: Haley Barbour or Mitch Daniels. Barbour would be a safe choice and fits the GOP ideologue mold like a glove. He could campaign on surpassing Texas for social services and education. Daniels would be too intelligent a choice for the GOP. The GOP still remains a predominantly Anglo southern party and I don't see that changing in the next 2 1/2 years, imh.

Barack Obama announces major energy policy initiatives, including the strictest fuel efficiency standards in history and an offshore drilling program that is yet another display of his willingness to adopt GOP ideas and policies and Chris Cilliza devotes an entire column to.............

Tim Pawlenty's chat on Facebook and his efforts to buy political favors?

What a joke.

==

Not as grotesque a joke as the day after HCR passes running a column instead on some former Indiana Senator who wants to get his hooks back in ... by granting an interview to our panting blogger to explain how much he hates President Obama.

Yeah, big news.

And after Boehner wet his pants before the House trying futilely to skew the HCR vote, CC calls him a "winner" in its passage, on a par with the President whose victory it unquestionably is.

For being so blatantly partisan toward Republicans, for showing such a lack of sense of proportion, I maintain this blog needs a new host.

Jake, I think you've milked your noncolloquial take on "nobody" for all it's worth. Ha-ha.

Nobody cares about Tim Pawlenty, nobody cares about his endorsements. You're just being contrary as an excuse to flood the blog with garbage to palliate the turbo-charged tedium of your desperately empty life.

We're all very impressed that you can use Google and post links. I mean, most people can't do that before age six. You're really quite the clever little fellow.

There's less than six (6) hours left before the polls close in Minnesota for the 2012 Presidential election, with only Pawlenty and Obama qualified on this surprise ballot -- assuming that enough polls can even open by then -- do you think that Obama is going to get more local voters to turnout (from the White House) than Pawlenty (from in the State)?

Barack Obama announces major energy policy initiatives, including the strictest fuel efficiency standards in history and an offshore drilling program that is yet another display of his willingness to adopt GOP ideas and policies and Chris Cilliza devotes an entire column to.............

Tim Pawlenty's chat on Facebook and his efforts to buy political favors?

I would assume that turnout would be at historic lows -- not to mention the legal challenges sure to be filed for violating the Constitutional requirements for holding said election -- nonetheless, that was YOUR hypothetical.

noacoler writes, of pawlenty
"His own state doesn't like him, only CC cares about him."

Pawlenty has never won a lot of love from Minnesotans, but his approval ratings have generally been higher than his electoral margins. Largely due to the impact of Independence Party candidates, Pawlenty did not won a majority of either election, though he won. Subsequent job approval ratings tended to give him the benefit of the doubt, and he typically surpassed 50% (i.e. more than ever voted for him). So, in that context, his drop to 42% is somewhat significant. If I recall correctly, Obama won about 60% of the vote in 2008 - about 15 more points than Pawlenty ever won.

But here's the thing about Pawlenty: he comes across well, particularly if you aren't familiar with his record. He's extremely partisan, never passing an opportunity to take a shot at Dems nationally or the DFL locally, yet when he talks about his agenda, he makes it sound very sensible and reasonable. Personally, I don't think he has the kind of charisma that will be necessary to win the GOP nomination for 2012, much less the general election. But I do think he's going to do better than most people here think. While not a social conservative firebrand, he does share their views; he probably won't be their favorite candidate, but they won't seek to undermine him either. He's absolutely got the club for growth vote, and is clearly courting the TEA types (see Hoffman endorsement). He doesn't have the astronomically high negatives of a Palin or the plasticity / flip-floppery of a Romney. Consider that he has been elected governor of a fairly blue state twice, and was majority leader before that; he is very good at playing the game of politics. The Fix is right to watch him.

Do you not think that any of those were "real issues"? Moving onto the prior hypothetical question, there's less than six (6) hours left before the polls close in Minnesota for the 2012 Presidential election -- assuming that enough polls can even open by then -- do you think that Obama is going to get more local voters to turnout (from the White House) than Pawlenty (from in the State)?

In 2002, Pawlenty campaigned on a pledge not to raise taxes to balance the state's budget deficit, requiring visa expiration dates on driver's licenses, a 24-hour waiting period on abortions, implementing a conceal-carry gun law, and changing the state's education requirements. Pawlenty ran for re-election in 2006 on conservative issues (I can look those up for you too), though he was criticized by conservatives on a few specific funding items, including two stadium bills for the Gophers and Minnesota Twins, and a transportation bond which included the Northstar commuter rail line.

Craig: simple question(unscientific as it is) since you are in Minn. Do you think that Pawlenty could defeat Dayton in Nov, if he were running for re-election, since some of us here think that Minnesotans actually know a bit more about their state politics, then let's say some right wing self serving pundit in Ca.

I continue to be surprised that the press, including you Chris, pay so much attention to Pawlenty. He is a back bencher with over ambitious goals, without any real agenda at all.
Craig
Minneapolis, Minnesota

incidentally you are the one that has come here every day 2 1/2 years before an election screaming you absolutely know how the 2012 election will turn out. That is absolute garbage that no one believes other than you. I deal in today's reality not some make believe universe where like you we just get to make up polling data that fits our political leanings and that reality is that POTUS Obama is 7% more poular with Minnesotans then their sitting Governor. Its too bad that you don't want to hear that, but once again NO ONE CARES.

what kind of absolutely stupid racist comment was that? Yea we are dealing with today's reality that Gov. Pawlenty garners only 42% approval rate with his own constituents, period. Oh those darn facts get in the way sometimes don't they. You can scream and kick that you don't agree with Rasmussen or Minnseotan's views of their Governor, but guess what NO ONE CARES.

I'm not saying that an actual turnout of 42% would beat 49%. Under YOUR hypothetical, there's less than six (6) hours left before the polls close in Minnesota for the 2012 Presidential election -- assuming that enough polls can even open by then -- you really think that Obama is going to get all of his 49% out to vote in the State, all the way from D.C., as opposed to a much larger portion of Pawlenty's 42%? Even if Obama took over every radio and TV channel with the announcement to get to the polls now, those with at least SOME local "get out the vote" effort already in place will turn out in a much higher percentage. Look, I'm just working with YOUR hypothetical. It's not my fault you didn't think though the consequences of holding federal elections two and 1/2 years early, with no advance warning, on April Fools' Day no less.

yea jake 42% beats 49% every time in your lala land. But hey what do Minnesotan's know about their own governor, they should be listening to some right wing Ca guy instead. How dare them tell Rasmussen pollsters otherwise.

According to the Minnesota State Demographic Center, Minnesota’s African American population was 218,400 as of 2005. Cities with the largest percentage of African Americans include Minneapolis (18%), St. Paul (12%), Brooklyn Park (14%), and Brooklyn Center (14%). Unless Obama is going to fly to Minneapolis and personally drive them all to the polls today, there's no doubt that Pawlenty's 42% would carry the State for him.

and once again jake Pawlenty has a 42% state wide job approval unless you are wanting to argue with Rasmussen's numbers (that would not surprise any of us here). He is so unpopular in Minn. that he is currently not even garnering more than 42% Job Approval in his home state.

I'm assuming, if the 2012 federal election were being held today (apart from most people thinking it was an April Fools' joke), that T-Paw could in fact get more people to the polls in his own home state before they close than Obama could (Obama would win D.C. though ; )

Obama's job approval in Minn 49%; Pawlenty's 42%. Once again today Pawlenty could not even carry his own state in a general election matchup with Obama, truly pathetic.

"A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state shows:

"Obama carried Minnesota with 54% of the vote in the November 2008 election, and 49% of voters in the state now approve of the job he is doing as president, including 31% who strongly approve. But the same number (49%) disapprove of his performance as president, with 38% who strongly disapprove"

my referance was to Pawlenty and the GOP's unpopularity in Minnesota, try reading the complete post FOR ONCE:
"that shows how little regard Minnesotans have for Rs"

and for the second time,this is why Pawlenty could not even get re-elected as Governor today:

"Mr. Pawlenty's popularity among state voters has fallen to its "lowest level since he was elected in 2002", according to the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota. In an early March poll, 42% approved of his job performance; 52% disapproved"

42% approval in his own state is a pathetic base for initiating a national campaign. Understand Now? The GOP brand did not sell in Minnesota in 2008 and the Pawlenty brand is not selling in Minn. in 2010, get it.

Timothy James Pawlenty was born November 27, 1960 in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is of Polish and German ancestry and one of five children of Eugene and Virginia (Oldenburg) Pawlenty. His father drove a milk truck. His mother died of cancer when he was 15. Pawlenty played ice hockey on his high school's junior varsity squad.

In 1983, he received a B.A. degree in Political Science at the University of Minnesota's College of Liberal Arts. In 1986, he graduated with a law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School. In law school, he met his future wife, Mary Anderson. After their marriage, they settled in Eagan, Minnesota.

Pawlenty's first worked as a labor law attorney at the firm Rider Bennett, where he had interned during law school. Later, he became Vice President for a software-as-a-service company Wizmo Inc.

While living in Eagan, Pawlenty was appointed to the city's Planning Commission by then Mayor Vic Ellison. One year later in 1989, at the age of 28, he was elected to a term on the City Council. Pawlenty was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1992 and re-elected five times, finally being chosen House Majority Leader when the Republicans became the majority party in the State Legislature in 1998. He was elected Governor in 2002 and re-elected in 2006.

"Two Republican lawmakers this week, Rep. Mark Kirk (Ill.), who is running for Senate, and Sen. Richard Burr (N.C.), backed away from pledges they made to repeal the health law.

Some Republicans and Democrats have said that the prospect of repealing it is highly unlikely because the GOP would need to win two-thirds majorities in both houses to overcome a veto from President Barack Obama.

Democrats have warned that pushing for repeal would doom GOPers in the fall, because it would mean they would have to advocate for an act that would take away health insurance coverage for over 30 million uninsured. "

Including children with disabilities, who will be covered before the election. You want to run on stripping medical care away from crippled children? Nice visuals.

Pawlenty is Unpopular in his home state according to the latest Star Poll:

Monday, March 22, 2010

"Mr. Pawlenty's popularity among state voters has fallen to its lowest level since he was elected in 2002, according to the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota. In an early March poll, 42% approved of his job performance; 52% disapproved"

Mr Kristol, consider this reference to Tim Who to be a standard weekly note by the Fix of who's who amongst Rising Republicans. Perhaps your attention has been too-focused on half-term ex-Gov Palin, or you're more familiar with Tim Who by his frat-boy pseudonym, T-Paw. The Fix typically references T-Paw several times Weekly, as Standard practice. Though apparently some people don't get the joke.

those who don't believe the fallen bridges are not a real problem for Pawlenty are delusional. Who really cares about his campaign contributions to candidates, they have marginal effect at best. Personally I believe Pawlenty would have a difficult time getting re-elected Governor, and as a POTUS candidate would likely be unable to even carry his own state in the general. He couldn't even carry a Senate seat over comedian Franken;that shows how little regard Minnesotans have for Rs.

All these endorsements are hog-wash. Tim
Pawlenty? A nobody nationally. Big Bucks
Romney who won't be able to buy enough votes for anybody, cause the successful HCR was crafted by the Massachusettes reform bearing his siganture. Puke Palin, being President isn't lucrative enough for her, and soon she'll be chokin' on her tea bag string. Endorsements that are an incredible waste of money, and with the
Obama Blitz they are all in a daily frenzy, while they are frantically fracturing their endeavors, he's just getting on with the nation's business. It looks like that is the most effective camapign strategy, it's working now, and will work in November and 2012. 215 days until SWEET TUESDAY!! GO OBAMA,GO DEMS!!!

Peds version of the confederate battle flag. It stands for oppression, death, murder and economic impotence. Hammer and sickly indeed.

The wanton shallowness of this fool is palpable. Dates outside her race only. Obsessed with looks only. What a loser. Yet god made her bald and conversationally intolerable with an inability to procreate. How ironic. No doubt this obsessive compulsive cat lady lives with several cats and mutters to herself as she types.

I thought you'd be interested in this historic move for change and huge movement back toward a balanced US budget.
It was announced shortly after midnight on March 31st.
Peter

WASHINGTON— April 1 - In an effort to reduce wasteful spending and eliminate non-vital Federal services, the U.S. government announced plans late last night to cut the long-standing bicameral program, a move it says will help save hard pressed US taxpayers more than $300 billion each year and dramatically move the US back toward a balanced budget.

According to officials, the decision to downsize the national legislative body was reached during an intense and heated budget review meeting that concluded late Tuesday evening. After hours of deliberation, it was agreed that the cost of financing U.S. Senators far outweighed the benefits they provided. All sides agreed on the wisdom of this good faith decision.

"Now, more than ever, we must eliminate needless spending wherever possible," President Obama said at a press conference early Wednesday. "When we sat down to go over our annual budget, we asked ourselves, where can we safely trim back? What programs can we do away with without negatively impacting the American people? Which bloated and ineffective institutions can we no longer justify having around? The choices were painful."

"The answer was obvious," Obama added. "The U.S. Senate just needed to go."

Still, a portion of the nation's elected leadership vehemently disagreed with Tuesday evening's decision, as had been anticipated by the Administration and Congressional leaders, including the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell.

When called for comments, a weekend Connecticut-area resident and concerned independent citizen who makes more than $170,000 a year, enjoys full health care benefits, and lives comfortably in a large, non-foreclosed home said, "This is outrageous. The U.S. Senate has always looked out for my best interests. It's always done right by me." Mr. Lieberman declined to make any further comments unless asked in front of a TV camera and microphone.

After quickly reversing himself Lieberman then added, "Without it, and to make up for this sudden loss of income, I'll have no choice but to exploit my extensive connections in the insurance, real estate, legal, Mid-east policy, lobbying and pharmaceutical industries. I am confident I will be able to land strictly honorary positions at large companies or foundations that, in exchange for my subservience over the years and the prestige of my name among my colleagues, will compensate me generously and allow me to continue living a privileged life without contributing even a moment of my time to the society that has made it all possible."

Are any of these candidates even having contested primaries? It'd be more worthwhile to do something for Florida or Kentucky Senate races. Unless there's some money or campaign assist involved you might as well just pull names out of a hat for all the importance it brings.

"Many Americans fear that President Obama’s new energy proposal is once again “all talk and no real action,” this time in an effort to shore up fading support for the Democrats’ job-killing cap-and-trade (a.k.a. cap-and-tax) proposals. Behind the rhetoric lie new drilling bans and leasing delays; soon to follow are burdensome new environmental regulations. Instead of “drill, baby, drill,” the more you look into this the more you realize it’s “stall, baby, stall.”

Today the president said he’ll “consider potential areas for development in the mid and south Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, while studying and protecting sensitive areas in the Arctic.” As the former governor of one of America’s largest energy-producing states, a state oil and gas commissioner, and chair of the nation’s Interstate Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, I’ve seen plenty of such studies. What we need is action — action that results in the job growth and revenue that a robust drilling policy could provide. And let’s not forget that while Interior Department bureaucrats continue to hold up actual offshore drilling from taking place, Russia is moving full steam ahead on Arctic drilling, and China, Russia, and Venezuela are buying leases off the coast of Cuba.

As an Alaskan, I’m especially disheartened by the new ban on drilling in parts of the 49th state and the cancellation of lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. These areas contain rich oil and gas reserves whose development is key to our country’s energy security. As I told Secretary Salazar last April, “Arctic exploration and development is a slow, demanding process. Delays or major restrictions in accessing these resources for environmentally responsible development are not in the national interest or the interests of the State of Alaska.”

I’ve got to call it like I see it: The administration’s sudden interest in offshore drilling is little more than political posturing designed to gain support for job-killing energy legislation soon to come down the pike. I’m confident that GOP senators will not take the bait.

Next week I’m headed to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, where I look forward to discussing what “Drill, baby, drill” really means."

Everywhere except one place, Pawlenty is a total non-entity, wildly unpopular in his home state and not talked about by anyone. He is not looked at as a 2012 contender by anyone..well except in one place:

"You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead -your next stop, the Twilight Zone!"

Sad.
_______________

Is this about the time the grim faced senior editor comes by your news room desk and says, "So-and-so, do you have lunch plans? We need to talk"?

As the comedians used to say,"Take my wife ...please" We Minnesotans would be happy to give TPaw to anyone who will take him. Not only is he generally reprehensible but his drift to the right to get more votes is hurting a lot of vulnerable people here in the Land of Sky Blue Waters.

If we are really reporting legitimate "political news" about Pawlenty, why no mention of this:

"Tim Pawlenty's approval rating as governor of Minnesota has hit an all-time low, according to a new study, a potential trouble spot for his 2012 presidential ambitions.

An analysis of over 70 public polls — 50 of which came from SurveyUSA — since Pawlenty took office more than seven years ago conducted by the University of Minnesota shows that the governor's 42 percent approval rating in a recent poll of 500 Minnesotans is his low point."

That Obama is legally president is a perfectly safe assumption, as he is indeed the president.

I know it's hard for a racist pig such as yourself to accept that a nonwhite man could be the President of the United States and I know it's really hard for you to cope, but you ought to find a more credible and sane way to handle it than this ongoing ridiculous denial.

Not that you care about appearing a fool but it's getting really tiresome.

I agree that Washington is moving the wrong direction. Thanks to continental drift, it's headed west at a rate of 1" per year. How are we ever going to move closer to Europe when we're going in the wrong direction???

I remember getting a phone call from John Kerry's PAC asking me to contribute. Yeah, I'm not contributing to a random leadership PAC.

2. These weapon systems, some fully operational, apparently are being classified as "defensive," in that they can be used for missile defense, when in fact scalar wave directed energy weapons can deliver awesome, precision-targeted lethal force silent, at the speed of light, against military or human targets.

3. Electromagnetic radio frequency weapons also can be used to enslave, impair, subjugate entire populations, or "targeted individuals."

4. A microwave/laser directed energy weapon system, installed on cellular towers, has been deployed in virtually every neighborhood in America -- and is being used by regional Homeland Security-administered "fusion centers" to silently assault, torture and impair "targeted" American citizens.

Are some of the above facts the reason that START does not cover "directed energy weapons?" Why are diplomats fighting the last war by limiting their efforts to traditional nukes? Read:

I still get solicitations from WesPAC from '04 and McC from '00. They never go away. They sometimes change addresses to sneak past your filters.

Imagine: once you give through TP's PAC that you have new junk mail for years and years. You will never be lonely and that his .gif will appear over messages telling you how important you are and how, now, more than ever, he needs you. Enjoy!